Penn Rides Beaudway To Won Over Tigers

Warsaw had the will, but Penn had the Beaudway.

Ali Beaudway that is.

The 5-foot-10 junior amassed 23 kills in the Kingsmen's 25-21, 25-14, 29-27 win over the Tigers Thursday evening.

Beaudway set the pace in the first game slamming returns past Warsaw's defense and scoring three of Penn's last four points to give the Kingsmen the game one win.

The Tigers struggled early and fell behind 18-12 before Warsaw head coach Doug West called a timeout.

Warsaw regrouped afterwards and drew to within a point at 21-20 but couldn't close out.

"They just had a little more firepower," said West. "We weren't able to close out games."

While the Tigers weren't able to close out games, they were able to play fairly error free games.

Warsaw committed just two serving errors in the first game to the Kingsmen's four.

West believes that his teams improved play doesn't necessarily reflect in its record.

"I feel like what we're doing is facing good competition and as we move to the middle of the season. We're keeping the game fun but also playing with good intensity," said West.

The Tigers jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the second game before Penn tightened the clamps and went on an 8-0 run.

The Kingsmen outscored Warsaw 12-2 during the middle of the second game with the Tigers lone points in that time coming from service errors by Penn.

Junior Kelsey Landrum got into the action for the Kingsmen in the second game by providing the same sort of punch as Beaudway.

Landrum finished with 13 kills and 17 digs on the evening.

Beaudway and Landrum found a groove in the second game and sent balls screaming past the Warsaw defense. When the Tigers were in position to receive the ball, they were knocked off balance and unable to return the ball.

Beaudway finished off Penn's 25-14 game two win with one of her 23 kills.

West decided to go to three rotations for game three to try out different blocking schemes and that strategy nearly forced a fourth game.

The Tigers came out strong in the final game taking a 15-8 lead at one point on the strength of an 8-1 run.

Warsaw junior Danielle DeGeeter picked up one of her 10 serving points on an ace in the third game that got the Tigers rolling.

The contest seesawed in the third game as Penn staged a comeback to a take a 24-22 lead.

Unfazed the Tigers tied the contest at 24-24 and eventually took the lead at 27-26.

Penn's strong offense and height was too much for Warsaw to overcome and the Kingsmen finished out the match with a 29-27 win.

"They definitely have a strong offensive attack," said West of the Kingsmen. "We're not an especially tall team. We're a medium-height team and that gave us some problems against (Penn)."

Sophomore Allison Reichard provided a spark for Warsaw with 10 assists and five serving points.

Senior Kim Clay led the Tigers with 10 digs while also racking up four kills and six serving points.

Kate Denlinger had three blocks to lead Warsaw and also finished with six serving points.

Seven different players scored for the Tigers with Noelle Scrafton finishing with seven serving points, Tasia Smith picking up five and Kacie Conley finishing with three.

The Tigers move to 9-4 on the season face off with Columbia City Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Columbia City.

PENN DEF. WARSAW 25-21, 25-14, 29-27

(Warsaw leaders)

Kills - Noelle Scrafton 7, Kate Denlinger 5, Danielle DeGeeter 5, Kim Clay 4, Tasia Smith 3, Kristin Conley 3, Selina Long 1

Assists - DeGeeter 12, Allison Reichard 11

Digs - Clay 10, DeGeeter 10, Scrafton 7, Conley 6, Denlinger 5, Reichard 3, Long 1

Blocks - Denlinger 3, Smith 2, Kreinbrink 1

Serving points - DeGeeter 10, Scrafton 7, Clay 6, Denlinger 6, Reichard 5, Smith 5, Conley 3

JV - Penn def. Warsaw 25-17, 15-25, 15-8

(Warsaw leaders)

Kills - Alexis Albertson 3, Laura Long 3, Shelby Runnells 2, Courtney Ogle1

Digs - Albertson 6, Kelsey Green 5, Runnells 4, Kirra Leeper 4, Sara VanDeWater 3, Ogle 3, Stephanie Davis 3

Serving points - Albertson 4, Sara Hatcher 4, Ogle 4, Davis 4, Liz Tat 3, Runnells 2, Christina Wilson 2, VanDeWater 2

Assists - Davis 9, Ogle 2

Blocks - Long 5, VanDeWater 3, Ogle 2

9th - Warsaw def. Valley 25-7, 25-12

Northridge def. Warsaw 25-24, 25-8

(Warsaw leaders)

Kills - Jessica Cesaretti 8, Whitney Taylor 6, Susan Bonatati 4, Tara Akers 4, Leah Hawkins 3, Sena Muta 2

Assists - Michelle Pifer 12, Britaney Blue 8, Bonatati 3

Digs - Pifer 11, Taylor 11, Akers 6, Bonatati 5, Marissa Cox 4, Hawkins 4, Lauren Smolen 1, Blue 1

Aces - Akers 12, Cox 5, Bonatati 1, Muta 1

Blocks - Taylor 1, Hawkins 1, Cesaretti 1